International research firm Parks Associates anticipates 2011 will mark the resurgence of the Smart Home concept following a series of CES announcements as well as research showing U.S. consumers value energy management as a lifestyle choice.

International research firm Parks Associates anticipates 2011 will mark the resurgence of the Smart Home concept following a series of CES announcements as well as research showing U.S. consumers value energy management as a lifestyle choice as well as a cost -saving measure.

Parks Associates hosted the fifth annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES on January 6, featuring record -breaking attendance on the first day of CES, where the firms' leading analysts commented on the expansion of connected home systems and services.
"CES 2011 featured several significant announcements for connected home systems and services, smart appliances, and broadband -enabled home monitoring services, including Verizon's Home Monitoring Control offering, which featured applications for a web camera, lighting control, outlet modules, and a communicating thermostat," said Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems, Parks Associates. "Consumers are starting to see energy -efficient products and services as a means to improve their home and personal comfort as well as for cost savings, which opens the market for a variety of solutions from utilities, service providers, and manufacturers."
Parks Associates will further explore the opportunities and implications of residential energy management at the upcoming Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, January 24 -26, in Austin, Texas.
CES 2011 also featured a variety of sophisticated gesture -recognition and multiplatform connectivity solutions.
"What was fantasy in Minority Report a few years back is becoming a reality in 2011," said Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. "The brisk sales of Microsoft Kinects, along with upcoming products such as the WAVI Xtion, indicate gesture -recognition products have strong early -market appeal and will help redefine how people interact with their connected TVs and other digital devices within the home. We will explore these factors more in -depth at CONNECTIONS™ 2011 on June 28 -30."
Other key CES 2011 innovations center on solutions that link mobile and portable CE such as smartphones and tablet computers to the television so consumers can move seamlessly between platforms and even "flick" video from an iPad to an Internet -connectable TV. The use of complementary video viewing devices has significant implications on how interactive television and TV Everywhere concepts will evolve.

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